Sideways Sammy

The early impressions of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto were positive, a wide player who always has an extra trick up his sleeve, Sakamoto immediately caught the eye. The question, however, was whether TatsUhiro Sakamoto could pair his ability to beat defenders with an end product, which is something he has proved beyond a doubt over the past couple of months. Finding a settled role in the side and playing closer to goal than when he had been deployed at wing-back, Sakamoto has shown he can be a match-winner in his own right, adding another source of danger that opponents have to contend with.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s dribbling ability was immediately obvious. That combination of control and a low centre of gravity provides Sakamoto with the ability to turn at will, which constantly catches defenders off guard because they simply cannot know if he is looking to go around the outside or inside of them. Knowing that the ball can be given to Sakamoto and he can reliably drive to the byline or penalty area provides a reliable attacking outlet for the team, aided by Milan van Ewijk’s overlapping pace to stretch opponents even further. Capable of producing some gorgeous crosses, particularly when checking inside onto his left foot to aim towards Haji Wright coming in from the other wing, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto is a dangerous enough player even without the goals that he has been able to score over recent months.

The ball-carrying and crossing look to be the most reliable elements of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s game, the question is whether the goal-scoring is too. Statistically, Sakamoto has scored seven goals from an xG of 2.9, which either suggests he is a brilliant finisher or he’s been fortunate. Based on watching Sakamoto, he is not someone who strikes the ball particularly powerfully or cleanly even if he can place shots into corners quite nicely. While Sakamoto shouldn’t be expected to keep scoring at the rate he has done recently, he has shown he is a dangerous enough without that to make him one of the team’s key players.